Angola’s national oil company is looking to diversify its business into minerals that are critical.

Sonangol, the state-owned Angolan oil company, said Wednesday it wants to diversify its business into minerals that are critical for economic growth.

Sonangol's executives told a press conference that the company made a net profit of over $750 million by 2025. This is compared to 736 billion kwanzas (about $807 million) in 2024.

Conglomerate owns stakes in offshore oil and gas blocks, operates a fleet and refineries.

Sebastiao Gaspar Martins, the Chief Executive of Sebastiao Gaspar, said that it also had seven concessions for uranium exploration, lithium exploration, and quartz exploration.

He told reporters that "Sonangol is looking to diversify into critical minerals for energy transition.... It will be useful to us to have a stake in and presence in this development."

Angola has said that it intends to sell 30% of?Sonangol - a company which was a mainstay in the country's economy for many decades. However, it is unclear when this sale will take place.

Gaspar Martins said that the conditions are not yet right, but the government is pushing ahead with plans to sell shares in 10 more state-owned companies this year.

Sonangol's oil and gas production was 217,000 barrels equivalent of oil per day last year.

Angola, Sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest crude oil producer, has changed its regulatory environment in order to attract a new investment from oil'majors like TotalEnergies, Chevron and Shell, as well as Azule Energy a joint venture of Eni and BP.

(source: Reuters)